Probation ordered for Pekin man for mailed marijuana

Tuesday

A Pekin man will serve a two-year probation term for picking up 2 ½ pounds of marijuana in a package mailed from Colorado, where the drug can be purchased legally.

Travis Ralph, 30, faced up to seven years in prison on the charge of possessing marijuana with intent to deliver. He pleaded guilty on July 23.

The package was the 14th of its type addressed and delivered to a Pekin address, prompting the city’s U.S. Postal Service branch to notify police of its suspicions when the latest one arrived in February 2017.

After a drug-sniffing police dog alerted to the box, it was opened to confirm it contained marijuana. It was then delivered. Ralph was arrested after he arrived at the address to pick it up.

Ralph, who was released on bond shortly after his arrest, also must pay about $3,600 in fines and court costs.

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